Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Chapter 21: Preparations
Percy's POV
I watched as Thalia walked back towards camp. I needed to speak with Theseus and Athena. I guess they could tell that because they both walked over to me.
"You want to talk to us?" Theseus asked. I could tell by his eyes that he was concerned and Athena's body language gave her away as well. Why am I so observant all of a sudden? These changes are hard to get use to.
"I don't know how to say it, but I need to talk about me." I said. I could see they were a little confused. Even though Athena is harder to read than my brother I could tell she was confused. I know it's tough to get use to the idea of reading emotions.
"What do you mean?" Athena asked curiously. I could tell that she was truly concerned.
"I don't know about these abilities, I'm just now realizing how much I've changed. It can be a little…." I said trailing off at the end.
"Scary… Disconcerting… Weird." Theseus said.
"I guess a little of all three, not so much the scary part, I don't scare easy anymore or at all really." I said. I saw Athena raise an eyebrow and Theseus gave me a quizzical look.
"Everyone gets scared. They may be able to control it, but the feeling is there. Tell us how you feel different than say a year ago?" Athena asked logically.
"Last year and even the years before that I was always so full of emotion. It was like a tidal wave that I always had to hold back. It scared me I don't believe anyone knew that. Sometimes I would let some of that tidal wave slip and bad things would happen." I said.
"Like Mount St. Helens?" Theseus asked. By his expression and emotions I could tell he already knew the answer.
"Correct, just like that. Now the wave is like a kiddy pool, I can easily control it with no problem." I said.
"What about the power?" Theseus asked hesitantly. I know he was concerned that my dark side was still there pushing somewhere in the background of my mind.
"The power is still there, but it doesn't have any link to the pool. It's like a reserve that I can call on when I need it." I said. I could see the relief in Theseus's face, even Athena looked relieved.
"Ok, spill it I don't have to read your emotions to tell that you both know something." I said sternly.
"The whole training scenario had one main purpose and that was to get your inner power under control. We didn't know anything about the second reason, the one that Zeus knew about." Theseus said. I could tell he was a little wary of telling me.
"What other reason, you know I hate it when people hold back the truth from me." I said. I saw Athena nod to Theseus as if to say go and tell him, which is probably exactly what it meant.
"Ok, the other reason was to break our mental link. Zeus and some of the others felt that it was too dangerous and that your subconscious was inadvertently siphoning power from me." Theseus said. That's why Perseus was so strong.
"Well, I hate to admit it, but he was right. The link between us fueled my dark side." I said, I could tell that Athena and Theseus already knew this.
"You already knew, how?" I asked.
"We saw the fight between you and Perseus." Athena said. How did they see it?
"How?" I asked.
"Hephaestus." Theseus said. He was monitoring me I bet Zeus had a nice view of everything I did in the Plain of Despair.
"So did both of you sit back and watch with Zeus and the gang?" I asked incredulously.
"We didn't know anything about the monitoring or the Spartan training. We met Annabeth on Olympus and she was looking for Demeter. We walked into the throne room and there they were watching you. We watched as well, after we gave my father a good talking to." Athena said. I could tell that she didn't feel good about watching my ordeal, but Annabeth was there, oh gods, she saw him.
"Annabeth was there, she saw him?" I asked worriedly. I could tell this question was completely unexpected.
"I'm afraid she watched the whole confrontation." Athena said sincerely.
"She must think I'm some kinda monster." I said sadly. Theseus and Athena both placed a hand on my shoulder.
"She doesn't think you're a monster. She understood what happened." Athena said reassuringly.
"That's right she was more worried than any of us about you. Besides Perseus is gone now, right?" Theseus asked almost pleadingly. Was Perseus gone, I couldn't feel him anymore? I tried many times since I got my memories back, but I think my dark side was gone, but shouldn't that worry me?
"I think Perseus is gone, but isn't a lack of a dark side or whatever you want to call it a bad thing?" I asked. I could see Athena and Theseus both working that question over in their minds.
"A good question, I've never met anyone without a dark side, there have been many villains who didn't have a good side, that's more common I suppose." Athena said. That didn't make me feel better, so I'm in uncharted waters.
"I guess Thalassa was right when she said I was unique. She alluded to special gifts as she called them, these abilities stemmed from my lack of a dark side. There have been several things that I have noticed about myself since I defeated Perseus." I said.
"Like what?" Theseus asked. I could see that he and Athena were actually intrigued. I don't blame them I guess.
"Well, for one I can read emotions as I said earlier. Secondly, I have been more focused and very observant, much more than I ever was before. Third, I have sudden insights during battles, not like flashes regarding tactics or strategy, but things like predicting my opponent's next move in a fight. Fourth, in my dreams like the one about the sharkmen and camp, I can rationalize and analyze them as I'm dreaming. When I wake up I can remember them specifically. Lastly, I have a photographic memory, actually more than that I can focus on the image and manipulate it in my mind such as zooming in on a specific aspect." I said. Theseus and Athena both stared at me for a moment and then smiled.
"Percy, Thalassa is correct these are great gifts. Now I can understand how you were able to confront all of us just a few minutes ago. You truly have grown up and more importantly your new gifts will greatly enhance your life." Athena said.
"I agree you have made me very proud little brother." Theseus said. I need to tell him about my mom, it has to be now.
"Theseus I need to tell you something. When I was in the Plain of Despair, fighting against fear and the dark side within me I had a sudden realization. I recognized something about you and me." I said.
"What exactly?" Theseus said curiously. Athena looked like she was about to explode waiting for me to answer.
"Regarding our mothers." I said, not sure how to say this.
"Go on you can tell me." Theseus said.
"I realized the reason we are twins is because Aethra is reincarnated in my mom." I said calmly. Theseus's eyes grew wide and I could see a tear fall from his left eye. Athena put her arm around him and smiled.
"How do you know for sure?" Theseus asked. I could tell that he was holding back excitement and his emotions to make sure that I was certain.
"I asked Nico to check and he found out that Aethra was in the Elysium Fields for several thousand years, but she petitioned for rebirth a few decades ago. Nico discovered that the year of her rebirth matched the year my mom was born." I said. I could see the light brighten behind Theseus's eyes. A broad smile came over his face and he pulled me into a hug. We eventually separated I could see a huge smile on Athena's face as well.
"Percy, this is the best gift you could ever give me. I always wondered how we could be twins, but this is the answer. It's so obvious now I'm not sure how I missed it." Theseus said.
"Well I felt the same way too. I need to go talk to Annabeth and call Grover. I have a good friend to save." I said as I hugged both of them good-bye. I walked toward the Zeus cabin. I reached the door of the cabin, but stopped when I heard talking and crying. I could tell that Thalia was sobbing. Thalia hardly ever cries, but I know under that tough exterior she is a lost little girl who never really had a mom or dad. Wow, I never thought that way about her before. This reading emotions thing is going to take some getting use to. I kind of felt bad about not telling Theseus and Athena about the other gift, my senses have been incredibly enhanced; hearing, sense of smell, eye sight and of course my sixth sense. I guess this one secret is not too big to keep. I knocked on the door of the Zeus cabin. I could hear furniture moving and soft footsteps, the door opened and standing in front of me was Annabeth. She had a sad look on her face, but she tried to smile when she saw me.
"I guess Thalia told you everything?" I asked already knowing the answer, but not really sure. The one thing I didn't tell Athena and Theseus was that the one person whose emotions I couldn't read very well was Annabeths'.
"Yes, get in here we all need to talk." Annabeth said, she didn't sound happy. I'm good at detecting emotions in voices and on faces, thank goodness. Annabeth was projecting anger, pain and sadness. I just couldn't place where those feelings were being directed. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
"Why didn't you tell me about Nico, I thought you were going to ask him and then let me know?" Annabeth yelled at me. The old Percy would have probably gotten mad for being yelled at and would have said something stupid.
"Give me a chance to explain, please." I said calmly. Annabeth was shocked she didn't expect this answer from me. She thought I would fly off the handle like old times I thought.
"Go ahead." She said. I could tell she was a little uncomfortable. I saw Thalia walk out with her eyes all puffy. She sat down next to Annabeth who sat on a bunk near the rear window of the cabin.
"I didn't have time to tell you. I talked to him between sword classes. He went straight to talk to Thalia, so please don't get mad at me. I'm not to blame for people getting mad and letting their emotions get the better of them." I said pointedly. Thalia put her head in her hands.
"How did you know to go to Zeus's Fist?" Thalia said quietly. I could tell that she was worn out. She must have gone to the infirmary because I could see bandages wrapped around her waist under her shirt.
"Well, I was training with the Apollo cabin when I heard a lot of commotion such as lightning, explosions and yelling." I said. They both looked at each other in disbelief.
"I was here in the cabin and I never heard those things, how could you all the way over and inside the training center." Annabeth said. It's definitely hard to keep a secret from the wise girl.
"It's one of my new gifts, but both of you need to swear not to spread this around. I haven't told anyone else yet." I said.
"Yes, we swear." They both said at the same time.
"My senses have all been heightened since my training that includes hearing." I said. They both stared wide eyed at me. Why do people do that when I tell them these things? I'm not some kind of freak among freaks.
"Percy, why haven't you told me these things?" Annabeth asked. I could tell by her expression that she was confused and disappointed.
"How do you tell you're girlfriend that you're some kind of a freak? It's already obvious that you're a little freaked out about how much I've changed." I said. I hadn't let that feeling out. It felt good to do that.
Annabeth just looked at me and then I saw her cheeks redden. "I'm not freaked out about that, it just takes time to adjust to it. You have grown up so much in the last few years. I sometimes forget that you're still my old seaweed brain." Annabeth said anxiously.
"Hey, I always be that, but I have changed, some of it has to do with growing up and others because of what happened this year. You have always told me that I had great potential, but I was too lazy to realize it. You're so right, I think I'm finally achieving my potential and it feels incredible." I said as I smiled at her. She smiled back and jumped into my arms and hugged me.
"I think I'm going to hurl." Thalia said. I looked at her and smiled, she just shook her head clearly annoyed.
Annabeth and I separated. "Did Thalia tell you about the two missions?" I asked Annabeth.
"Yes, we have to go back to the Lotus Casino. Thalia said that you were the one that figured out his destination not my mom." Annabeth said, I could tell she was impressed.
"Lucky guess." I said. I knew better than that. I think Annabeth did too as she smirked at me.
"I have to go steal the antidote from Aphrodite with the Stolls." Thalia said incredulously, when she said Stolls it was like a dirty word to her.
"We need to get prepared." Annabeth said. As usual, she's always ready for a mission.
"We need to call Grover." I said.
"Alright, right after we help Thals we'll go to your cabin and use the fountain. Thalia what can we help you with?" Annabeth said.
"You can kill me now before I leave with those two delinquents." Thalia said sarcastically.
"Come on seriously, what can we do?" Annabeth asked. Thalia just looked at us and then she smiled.
"You can tell the Stolls for me." Thalia said with a grin. She called Nico a coward and she can't even talk to the Stolls.
"Thalia it's your mission, you ask them to join you. You can't be afraid of those two, can you?" Annabeth said with surprise in her voice. Thalia just stared at her and I could see the electricity in her eyes.
"I'm not afraid of them, I just hate going into the Hermes cabin that's all." Thalia said angrily.
"Well why not ask them to meet you someplace." I said. I could see Thalia's anger rise with that statement. She really didn't want to ask them, well now I knew what I had to do.
"Thals, you helped make this mess worse so as part of your punishment you're going to ask the Stolls. You forget Annabeth and I are camp counselors this year so we can make you do this." I said as I put my arm around Annabeth. We both stared at Thalia with evil grins on our faces.
"Some friends you are. Alright, I'll do it." Thalia said as she stood up and walked out the door toward the Hermes cabin. Annabeth and I just stared at her as she left.
"So how is she, I heard the sobs before I knocked on the door?" I asked. Annabeth looked at me and sighed.
"She blames Nico and she blames herself, especially about him leaving camp." Annabeth said.
"Their lucky they didn't kill each other. We all should be glad that Theseus and Athena arrived before Zeus and Hades destroyed the camp." I said.
"How about the ribs?" I asked.
"She'll be fine Will Solace bandaged her up and said that with a little magic from his dad that she should be fully healed in a few days." Annabeth said.
"Good, she's going to need to be fully healed to take on Aphrodite. I think we have the easier job." I said. Annabeth smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek.
"Yeah, we only have to deal with Grover, Thalia gets the Stolls." Annabeth said. I looked at her and smiled.
"I'd take that trade anytime." I said as we walked out of the cabin arm in arm. A mission with my wise girl and good old Grover, now this should be fun. It will be so good to see him again. The Lord of Wild, I haven't spoken to him for over a year now and even though my empathy link with him broke the day my link with Theseus did I still know he's out there doing his best for wild places as he calls them.
Annabeth and I walked to my cabin as we entered we followed the sound of running water to the beautiful fountain near the rear window of my cabin. The fountain was beautiful. It was made of white marble and was covered with a tremendous variety of seashells. In the center of the fountain were two dolphins that sprayed water out of their blow holes. The water made a light mist in the air before it settled into the large oval basin of water below. I knew Annabeth helped design it and I knew she loved it.
"I love the fountain." I said as I held her in my arms. I gave her a kiss and then we separated it was time to call the G-man. I pulled a drachma out of my pocket and threw it into the fountain.
"Goddess hear my prayer, show Grover Underwood, Lord of the Wild." I said. The mist morphed and changed into an image of a magnificent forest and standing in front of a beautiful Giant Sequoia was Grover.
"G-man!" I yelled. Poor Grover almost fell over in fright like the small fainting goats that I saw on the television one time.
"Percy, you scared the Hades out of me." Grover said. He looked into the image and his eyes sparkled when he saw Annabeth.
"Annabeth, so good to see you, what's going on?" Grover asked excitedly.
"Grover, we have a mission." Annabeth said. Grover looked at us warily.
"How dangerous is this mission?" Grover asked.
"Nothing that a Lord of the Wild can't handle." I said confidently. Grover just looked at me and smiled. I knew he loved being a Lord of the Wild.
"Tell me about this mission, Annabeth. Percy will only sugar coat it." Grover said. Now I was offended, of course his statement was true.
"Nico had a fight with Thalia, he's under a spell from Aphrodite and we think he's gone to the Lotus Casino." Annabeth said. I saw Grover's eyes light up at the mention of the casino.
"The Lotus, we're going back there?" He asked. Knowing darn well that's what Annabeth just said.
"That's what she said G-man, are you in?" I asked. Grover looked at both of us and gave us a sheepish grin, which is weird coming from a goat boy.
"I'll do it. I should be able to meet you in Las Vegas, as you can tell I'm in California." Grover said.
"Alright Grover, we'll leave tomorrow, we'll be driving so it will take us three days to get there." I said.
Grover smiled and said, "Good, that gives me two days to finish my work here, see you in three." Grover swiped his hand through the message and the image dissolved back into the mist.
"That was easy enough, how are we driving there?" Annabeth asked. I looked at her and smiled when I held up the keys to the Prius that my mom and Paul gave me.
"We're going to take my ride." I said happily. Annabeth smiled and tried to grab the keys from my hand.
"They gave you the Prius?" Annabeth asked. I smiled a toothy grin and shook the keys in front of her.
"Jealous!" I said sarcastically. Annabeth grinned evily and started to tickle me until I dropped the keys. She grabbed them and ran to my cabin door.
"Catch me if you can seaweed brain!" She yelled as she ran out the door.
I knew she would be headed to the big house. It took me a minute to collect myself, I ran out the door after her. "You're so dead!" I yelled jokingly as I ran after her. Gods I missed this, I thought.
AN: A fluffy chapter, Grover's on board so it appears one mission is well on its way. I wonder how it went with Thalia and the Stolls? I guess you'll all find out next chapter.